JUNE 2009

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Pittsburgh G-20 Summit: Global Leaders to Discuss the World Economy in Pittsburgh

The White House recently announced that the next summit for Group of Twenty (G-20) leaders will be held in Pittsburgh on September 24-25, 2009 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Why Pittsburgh? “It’s an area that has seen its share of economic woes in the past, but because of foresight and investment is now renewed – giving birth to renewed industries that are creating the jobs of the future,” said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during his March 28 White House press briefing. The G-20 Summit is an opportunity to showcase the ‘new America’ to the leaders of the world economy – and Pittsburgh today is a model for economic and environmental transformation in the United States and elsewhere.

Our global strengths in advanced manufacturing, life sciences, financial services, digital technologies and energy solutions play to the Summit’s likely areas of focus.  Our economy, despite the global recession, is outperforming that of the nation as a whole. Meanwhile, as energy and the environment continue to be at the forefront of global discussion, the region is a green leader with a 150-year history of energy innovation.

The Pittsburgh newsroom provides a number of Pittsburgh-related resources for journalists covering the G-20, including background information, photos, video and media relations assistance. New resources are added almost daily, so stay tuned to www.pittsburghchamber.org.

More Economic Development News

Solar Power Industries Gears Up at Sony Site
While the solar-power business is poised to heat up with the help of federal stimulus funds, Solar Power Industries Inc. is leasing 265,000 SF in the Sony Technology Center-Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County to expand its production capabilities. “The company signed a lease in March and is awaiting state permits so that it can begin production by the end of the month. ‘The (solar) market is really expanding. It is pretty exciting’… The industry is banking on the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to give it a big boost over the next few years. The stimulus package allocates about $26 billion for research and development; deployment projects; tax incentives; and $5.5 billion for making federal buildings more energy-efficient.”  Read more

Pittsburgh-Based Limbach Expands Energy-Efficiency Services
“Limbach Facility Services, a player in the U.S. building industry, is expanding its energy services portfolio to eight new markets, including Tampa, Orlando, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington. The Pittsburgh-based company’s mechanical contracting services will target building owners that want to take advantage of government incentives to lower energy costs and cut greenhouse emissions through improved energy efficiency.” Read more

Expedient Communications Builds North Side Data Center – Strategic Location for Telecom and Data-Savvy Businesses
To accommodate its growth needs, internet connectivity and managed services specialist, Expedient Communications, has moved into a multi-million dollar, 18,000 SF data center and office space at Allegheny Center on Pittsburgh’s North Side. With more room and new assets, the company has been hiring. It touts its strategic location that is accessible from the airport; across from Downtown Pittsburgh; and on a duel grid from Duquesne Light (where the region’s key internet gateways meet), making it “particularly desirable for telecommunications or data-related businesses and call centers.” Read more

Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center’s New Darkstrand Connection Enhances Corporate Research
Darkstrand, a pioneer in corporate high-speed connectivity bridging research and commercialization, recently announced a collaborative agreement with the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC), a joint effort of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh and a leading partner in the TeraGrid, the National Science Foundation’s cyberinfrastructure program. This agreement enables any corporation on the Darkstrand Network to collaborate in real time with PSC on high-performance computing projects for product development, with a direct line to PSC’s technical consultants, application experts, supercomputing systems and mass-storage capabilities. Read more

Steep Growth for Bombardier Transportation, Bringing High-Speed Tech to Pittsburgh
“Despite the recession, Bombardier Transportation, Inc. [the global high-speed, high-tech mover of people that has regional headquarters in West Mifflin, Pa.] is in a steep growth mode … Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, totaled $9.8 billion, up 25 percent from the previous year.” Read more about this growth. Meanwhile the company “hopes to build a $9 million test track in Pittsburgh that could signal a future transit system for Oakland.” Read more

ATI Still Committed to Building $1.16B Brackenridge Mill
“Allegheny Technologies Inc. [recently announced that] it remains committed to the construction of a $1.16 billion hot strip mill and processing facility at its Brackenridge plant, despite the global recession.” Read more

Growing and Hiring: Wexford’s Lucas Systems Leads Way in Warehouse Logistics
“Wexford’s Lucas Systems is growing and hiring and hopes to double in size in the next two years. The 11-year-old voice logistics technology company started out as a partner with Vocollect … Lucas rewrote its software to work with Motorola and other open, mobile computing hardware devices, handheld computers or scanners that run on a Windows Mobile operating system. Today, Lucas is the second largest voice logistics company in North America and plans to grow by 25 to 30 percent this year.” Read more

New Creative Agency Z Brand Opens Downtown Office in Gulf Tower
“A design communications agency needs an office space as creative as its work. That’s why Z Brand Group president Goldie Ostrow chose to move into the 32nd floor of the Gulf Tower, at 707 Grant St., Downtown. Z Brand, which specializes in creative communications and digital design services, began its three-year lease in early May of a 3,700 SF space in the 38-story, 407,000 SF building.” Read more

Pittsburgh Office & Research Park Undergoing Renovation
“Pittsburgh Office & Research Park in McCandless is undergoing a multi-million-dollar renovation to convert a 93,813 SF building from a single tenant to a multi-tenant property… it is expected to be complete by late-summer.” Read more

More Pad-Ready Sites Underway at Starpointe Industrial Park
Despite the recession, Starpointe industrial park is moving ahead with developing the 1,200-acre site in Hanover and Smith Townships, according to the Washington County Council on Economic Development officials, the park’s developer. “It has already received $3.8 million in state, federal and local share gaming money, along with a $2.5 million loan, to develop an additional 90 acres of pad-ready sites.”  Read more

Former Steel Site Slated for Redevelopment
The Carrie Furnace, which once produced some 1,200 tons of iron daily for the Homestead Works U.S. Steel mill is slated for redevelopment as it enters the final stages of environmental clean up. “Allegheny County, which in 2005 bought the 168-acre land parcel where the Carrie Furnace had operated for 102 years … expects to start marketing the land for redevelopment this year.” Read more

20,000+ Pittsburgh Regional Jobs Open Now; All Accessible at ImagineMyNewJob.com
“Southwestern Pennsylvania has more than 20,000 open jobs, according to ImagineMyNewJob.com, [the region’s one-stop job search portal]. More than 80 percent of the positions are full-time, and about half of them pay at least $40,000 a year, according to the Web site's developer, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.” Read more

Nonstop Air Service to Europe Takes Wing on June 3 – Online Resources
Pittsburgh's newest gateway to Europe (and beyond) opens with Delta's inaugural nonstop flight between Pittsburgh and Paris on Wednesday, June 3.  Our region is proud of its growing international business community, and this flight will be a real asset both to businesses based here that have operations and clients around the world and to the more than 340 foreign-owned businesses with a presence in the Pittsburgh region.  The PRA and its public and private sector partners are using the June 3 inaugural flight to pursue business development opportunities and meet with contacts abroad. Click here for details about the flight, the PRA's efforts in Paris, a short video about the ease of navigating an improved CDG and sample corporate travel policy language that your organization can use going forward to make the Delta flight your preferred route to Europe. 

Point Park Completes $1.5M Purchase of Wood Street Building
“Point Park University is continuing with its $244 million Academic Village plan Downtown with the purchase of the 101 Wood St. building for $1.5 million.” Read more

Relocation.com Ranks Pittsburgh Among “Best Cities for Fresh Start”
Pittsburgh was ranked No. 18 among the “Best Cities for Fresh Start” by moving site Relocation.com. It is listed 18th among 20 cities. Austin, Texas achieved the top spot. Factors such as economic-growth prospects, home affordability and community strength were considered. Read more

New York Magazine Touts Pittsburgh’s Art Scene
New York Magazine’s “Scout Pittsburgh’s Emerging Art Scene” article highlights the region’s thriving cultural scene, and specifically that visual artists are reclaiming Steel City remnants like factories and warehouses into galleries, performance spaces and a whole lot more. Read more

CCAC Launches The Green Institute in Pittsburgh
“A new Green Institute is coming to the Community College of Allegheny County this fall with a range of offerings that will offer green collar training and help residents and children reduce their carbon footprint. The Green Institute is partnering with local leaders in residential and commercial energy conservation to develop the curriculum.” Read more

City Buildings Cultivate Savings with Green Roofs
Green roofs, “covered with plants growing in absorbent material, reduce storm water runoff, cut energy use, cool the urban core and lengthen the lifespan of the roof itself. They look good, too… Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato [recently] announced plans to install one on top of the County Office Building as a demonstration project … It will be at least the third green roof Downtown, joining the Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield building at Fifth Avenue Place and the Heinz 57 Center, which was featured in the 2009 Greenroofs of the World Calendar by Greenroofs.com.” Read more

Pittsburgh's GTECH Strategies Helps to Remake New Orleans
Some of “the scrubby lots … still recovering four years after Hurricane Katrina [in New Orleans will soon] be cleared of trash and covered in sunflowers, whose seeds will then be collected and converted into biodiesel fuel. The small project, symbolic of the city's ongoing makeover, is being engineered jointly by a New Orleans development firm and Pittsburgh's GTECH Strategies. GTECH – Growth Through Energy and Community Health – is a 2-year-old outfit that plants ‘energy’ crops on blighted, vacant land, with a primary goal of turning those problem spots into community gardens, and secondary goals of creating green jobs and eventually turning those crops into fuel. GTECH, a not-for-profit startup, sees opportunity in both the region's vacant industrial fields, as well as its many empty residential lots.” Read more

Green Building Market Study Highlights Pennsylvania's Opportunity
“A new Pennsylvania market analysis of green building products and services identifies the potential for a strong wave of growth in building and construction driven by demand for conservation [once the economy bounces back] … The Green Building Alliance sponsored the study, which identified more than 39,000 Pennsylvania firms employing about 565,000 people in building products and services. While some parts have experienced declines reflecting national trends, 30 sectors were notable for growth during the five-year period through 2007.” Read more

Greene County’s RJ Lee Group Does it All
“On any given day, RJ Lee Group is on the cutting-edge of small discoveries. This month the Monroeville analytical consulting laboratory was selected as one of several subcontractors to support the largest nuclear waste cleanup project in the country, if not the world: the Hanford nuclear waste site in the state of Washington.  RJ Lee will receive a portion of the $3.5 billion contract over 10 years to help manage the cleanup of radiation waste … For a company on the forefront of sustainable and environmental initiatives, nanocharacterization of materials is a big business.” Read more

Dow Jones Includes K&L Gates Among “Top 10 Leading Law Firms”
“K&L Gates was named one of the 10 leading law firms worldwide for the number of private equity and venture capital deals and funds represented in 2008, said the Downtown firm, citing a ranking by Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst.” Read more

Pittsburgh Software Learning Companies Receive National Recognitions
“Three local software learning companies [recently] received national recognition, a sign of the growing success of research-based artificial intelligence learning software companies here. Carnegie Learning, Carnegie Speech and Quantum Simulations were each recognized for prestigious honors by different organizations for their respective ground-breaking work in the field of software learning.” Read more

Urban Land Institute (ULI) National Top 10: Pittsburgh’s Cork Factory Apartments Honored
The Urban Land Institute (ULI) announced its Ten Winners for the 2009 Awards for Excellence: The Americas Competition. Among the winners of the awards competition, widely recognized as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program, was Pittsburgh’s The Cork Factory Loft Apartments (McCaffery Interests, Inc.). Read more

PRA’s OPPORTUNITY ASIA Partners with Symphony, Leveraging Culture to Promote Investment
As a business development strategy, the PRA’s OPPORTUNITY ASIA: Engage China 2009 delegation recently joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on its May 2009 Asia tour. “The PSO joins the equation as anything from a status symbol to simply a meeting point… [The PRA] credits the orchestra for helping with many successful business dealings abroad. A major one is the new direct flight from Pittsburgh International Airport to Paris, negotiated first in meetings in Amsterdam when the orchestra performed there last year. OPPORTUNITY ASIA is a long-term, multi-year strategy which aims to unlock business opportunities in China, South Korea and Taiwan for Pittsburgh region companies and to position the Pittsburgh region as a preferred U.S. investment destination for Asian countries. Read more

Carnegie Mellon Start-Up Pink* Offers Innovative Problem-Solving
Two graduates of Carnegie Mellon’s Human-Computer Interaction masters program—with a strong focus in design approaches and strategies— started Pink* in 2008. Eight months into running the new service design consultancy, they’ve already completed a large project for GlaxoSmithKline’s Influenza Marketing Team. The newest project? “Bringing their design approach to Mobile Doctors Network (MDNet), a service platform being built by non-profit Africa Aid for supporting communication between doctors working in rural Africa.” Read more

Six Innovative AlphaLab Start-Ups Seek Investment
Six innovative start up companies recently graduated from AlphaLab – a catalyst for launching the next generation of software, entertainment technology and Internet-related companies – and are seeking investment. AlphaLab is an initiative of Innovation Works. Read more

30-Countywide Regional Visioning Project Envisions Further Progress
“A grassroots regional visioning process is underway, a process that helped to enhance world-class cities such as Turin, Italy, and Calvary, Canada. The Regional Visioning Project is a two-year process that hopes to give the entire region – from leaders on down to citizens, students and retirees – a voice in what the 30-county, four state region around us might look like if we the people come together and rethink such challenges as water quality, transportation and regional job retention. The ultimate goal? A regional to-do list that will inspire a brighter future.” Read more

EVENTS

June 4, 2009 – 11th Annual Entrepreneurs Growth Conference
As a sponsor of this event, the PRA is pleased to extend a $20 registration discount to its partners to attend this extraordinary one-day event that that has helped thousands of both large and small businesses, seize opportunities, overcome challenges, conquer new markets and maximize profitability. Achieve the full potential of your business – whether you're just starting out or striving for that next million-dollar-level with information on the latest business trends and growth-building strategies, inspirational keynote addresses from nationally renowned entrepreneurs, and one of largest gatherings of entrepreneurial leaders and resources in Pennsylvania. Register for the early-bird rate of $119 before May 28. Half-day and lunch-only registration also available. See Web site for details.

June 8, 2009 – LEED the way to Green Buildings: BECOMING LEED CERTIFIED
Join LEED certification experts for the third of a four-part workshop series. Matthew Smutz, Sustainable Design Coordinator, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and Michael Tarle, Director, Design & Pre-Construction, Massaro Corporation will discuss the Leed Rating System, practices & principles, and how to become LEED Certified. From noon-4 p.m. at the Regional Enterprise Tower. Cost: $15.

June 9, 2009 – Producing GREEN Products: New Markets for Manufacturers
Packed with new information, this one-day seminar jointly hosted by Catalyst Connection and the Green Building Alliance is especially designed for small to mid-size manufacturers and those whose products are used in green buildings. Learn what green product innovation, sustainability, energy conservation and reduced environmental impact means for your product management strategy and portfolio. From 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Fee includes continental breakfast and lunch. Cost: $100.

June 12, 2009 – The Federal Stimulus Package in Pennsylvania: Community Forum with Secretary James Creedon
This Community Forum will feature Secretary James Creedon, PA Department of General Services and Chief Implementation Officer for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), as he answers questions you may have for yourself and our region regarding the Federal Stimulus Package. This is a FREE Event at the Heinz History Center from 1-3 p.m. Space is limited, please RSVP by June 9. Direct questions to 412.471.6488 or mharris@gwpa.org

June 22, 2009 – Stimulating Challenges: Economy, Energy, and Infrastructure – Leadership Breakfast featuring the Honorable Mike Doyle
The Honorable Mike Doyle serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality and Telecommunications. Attend this breakfast with Congressman Doyle as he discusses how the Stimulus Package could affect energy and commerce in our region. The discussion will be moderated by Jon Delano, LP V, Money and Politics Editor, KDKA-TV. At the Rivers Club in downtown Pittsburgh from 7:30-9:30 a.m. Cost: $20.